Portraits of Humanity in A Christmas Carol

Descriptions of the Supporting Characters in Charles Dickens Novella

Nov 13, 2009

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is filled with portraits of common Victorian people trying to get by.

When Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol, he wanted to raise the awareness of wealthy Victorians to the difficulty of poverty. As a result, most of the characters that Scrooge visits are either poor middle class or the poverty stricken.

Belle

Belle was a young woman who had been engaged to Scrooge. However, she decides to free Scrooge from his engagement because she feels that the idol of wealth has replaced Scrooge’s love for her, a girl with no dowry. The Ghost of Christmas past reveals her fate to Scrooge in another scene that took place while Marley was dying. In that scene, Scrooge sees her as a matron with a beautiful young daughter and large brood of children. Scrooge realizes all he lost by not marrying her.

Bob Cratchit

Bob Cratchit is Scrooge’s clerk. Scrooge pays him poorly and treats him worse. However, Cratchit is still a generous man. He is passionately in love with his entire family and holds Tiny Tim particularly close to his heart. His generosity is revealed when he proposes a Christmas toast in honor of Mr. Scrooge as the founder of the feast despite the harshness and stinginess of his employer.

Martha Cratchit

Martha is Bob Cratchit’s oldest daughter. She works outside the home as a milliner’s apprentice to help support the family.

Miss Belinda

Mrs. Cratchit

Mrs. Cratchit is the loving wife of Bob Cratchit. She is a frugal woman who wears her gown twice-turned but dresses it up with cheap hair ribbons. She stretches out the meager Christmas goose with apple-sauce and mashed potatoes. She is apparently a fine cook given the family’s accolades for her Christmas pudding. When Tiny Tim dies in a possible scene from the future she tries to put the best face on things for the sake of her husband.

Peter Cratchit

Peter is Bob Cratchit's oldest son. Bob has found a position for Peter so that he can begin to contribute to the support of the Cratchit household.

Tim Cratchit is better known as Tiny Tim. He is the crippled youngest child of Bob Cratchit. He is beloved by his family and everyone goes out of their way to help him. Bob often carries him around on his shoulder and takes him to church with him.

Tim’s family pretends to believe he is growing stronger but it is evident that he is getting worse. Scrooge is taken by the boy and asks the Ghost of Christmas Present about his future. The Ghosts says that unless things change, Tiny Tim will die. At the end of the book, Scrooge helps the entire Cratchit family and prevents Tim’s death.

Mrs. Dilber

Mrs. Dilber is one of three people who steals stuff from Scrooge’s deathbed and brings it to the rag and bones man, Joe.

Fred

Fred is Scrooge’s nephew the son of Scrooge’s beloved, departed sister, Fan. Fred is high-spirit, fun-loving, and kind. He calls on his Uncle on Christmas Eve to invite him over for Christmas. Although he receives a harsh rebuff, he still feels compassion for his uncle and plans to continue to invite him every year. When Scrooge surprises him on Christmas day he welcomes him with open arms and makes him at home in five minutes.

Joe

Joe is a rag and bones man (a junk dealer). Three people show up at his shop with items that they stole from Scrooge’s death bed hoping to pawn them off on him.

Old Fezziwig

Fezziwig was Scrooge’s master when Scrooge was a young apprentice. He is a generous and kind employer who throws a huge Christmas celebration for his employees. His generosity to his employees provides a stark contrast to Scrooge’s harshness as an employer.

Fan Scrooge

Fan is Scrooge’s little sister. She dies young but leaves behind her son Fred as Scrooge’s only living relative. She is a generous brave little soul with a huge heart and tries to reconcile her Father with Ebenezer.

Topper

Topper is a young man at Fred’s Christmas celebration who pursues one of Fred’s wife’s sisters.

Find out more about the main characters in Charles Dickens’ novel A Christmas Carol.

The copyright of the article Portraits of Humanity in A Christmas Carol in 18th & 19th Century British Fiction is owned by Melissa Howard. Permission to republish Portraits of Humanity in A Christmas Carol in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.